10 Brands That Got Creative for the Trump-Kim Summit

The #TrumpKimSummit/#KimTrumpSummit took place in Singapore early today and many brands have taken this event as the prime opportunity to get creative in marketing their products. Let’s take a look at what 10 brands in the food and beverage industry have come up with to get a slice of the advertising pie.

I. Coca-Cola

Focusing on the ideas of peace and hope, Coca-Cola Singapore has created a new can design (unfortunately not for sale or distribution) that combines elements of English and Korean, the national languages of the two countries meeting for the summit. They have also tagged their social media posts with the hashtags #PathtoPeace and #TastethefeelingofHope, although neither of these two hashtags have caught on with other users.

II. KFC Singapore

KFC Singapore created the Four Peace meal and invited the two leaders to partake of the meal for free if they head down to the KFC outlet in Sentosa, where the summit was due to take place. Social media managers of the KFC accounts even tagged Trump on the relevant social media platforms. Both the invitations on Facebook and Instagram were signed off by Colonel Sanders and written with some of Trump’s signature mannerisms in speech.

III. Wolf Burger

It is not just international brands that have jumped onto the bandwagon. Local burger restaurant Wolf Burger created a new item for their menu in commemoration of the event. While the burger itself is signature of the United States, Wolf Burger’s new burger contains bulgogi beef (a dish commonly associated with Korea) and kimchi mayo. Wolf Burger uses the hashtag #settlethebeef to promote their new burger, which has been used several times to tag user-generated posts about said burger.

IV. Harmony Nasi Lemak

Another local food brand that has created a new menu item in conjunction with the summit is Harmony Nasi Lemak. Nasi lemak is a Malay dish that contains rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf, with other dishes such as fried chicken or fish, fried anchovies, fried egg and cucumber on the side. The new menu item retains the coconut rice but replaces some of the side dishes mentioned above with U.S. dry-aged beef and kimchi.

Harmony Nasi Lemak also launched an Instagram-based competition, asking users to “follow” them on Instagram, “like” the post and “comment” with the hashtag #MakeHarmonyGreatAgain to stand a chance at winning their new creation every week. A similar competition, with slightly different rules, is also being held on Facebook.

V. Chock Full of Beans

Café Chock Full of Beans has also decided to take part in the fun by creating latte art with Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un as characters. The café does not appear to have used this opportunity to publicize a great deal, having created only a single post on Instagram and using only one of the hashtags for the summit.

VI. Ya Kun Kaya Toast

Ya Kun, which has a larger presence on Facebook than Instagram, advertised its “limited edition takeaway cups” on its official Facebook page.

Although one might wonder what Ya Kun expects its patrons to do with the takeaway cups once they are done drinking the beverages contained in them, it seems that the novelty of the cups have made it onto social media, with user-generated content featuring the cups being posted on Instagram.

VII. Empire

Bars and pubs have also made their way onto the list of food and beverage establishments capitalizing on the summit. Empire Sky Lounge is holding a special event called The Summit on this very night, challenging patrons to a Trump-Kim knowledge quiz and offering special drinks created in commemoration of the summit. One wonders what the success rate of the special event might be, however, given that it is being held on a Tuesday evening.

VIII. HopHeads

Offering stickers and a pair of drinks from the 6th to the 13th of June is HopHeads. Given the minimal use of hashtags, the establishment appears largely to be announcing the event only to their regular patrons. In any case, if you don’t quite fancy a drink on Tuesday night, the HopHeads event ends tomorrow, so perhaps you want to consider Wednesday instead.

IX. Royal Plaza on Scotts

Last on our list are the hotels that have jumped onto the trend. Royal Plaza on Scotts hotel has also created a new menu item in commemoration of the event. This new menu item is only available from the 8th to the 15th of June and is being marketed as the culinary highlight of the month.

X. The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Finally, the Fullerton Bay Hotel has gone all out, with their latte art featuring the leaders of both countries, their drinks made with the colors of the North Korean flag and their food items featuring both American and North Korean influences. Perhaps this level of dedication is only to be expected from a hotel.